House-door letter-box



(No Model.)

E. MARKELL. HOUSE DOOR LETTER BOX.

No. 449,372. Patented Marr31, 1891.-

WITNESSES: I TOR: @mW-Zaw. M yiiwfl BY 04% /3.vuww

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ED\VARD lilARKELL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

HOUSE-DOOR LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,372, dated March. 31, 1891.

Application filed January 22,1891. Serial No. 378,646. (No modelJ I I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD MARKELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to letter-boxes for residences, &c., and this application is a coinpanion one to that filed by me December-11, 1890, Serial No. 374,310.

The object of my present invention is to so pivot the swinging gate or flapper in the receiving-slot that it requires no spring to close, but acts by its own weight, and when closed its outer surface is flush with that of the front of the box or the door through which the receiving-slot is made.

\Vith these ends in view the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combinations of parts described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 represents an outside view of a portion of a street-door to which the box is applied; Fig. 2, a vertical cross section of the box; Fig. 3, a detail view showing the swinging gate or flapper and the hanger-plate in which the same is pivoted; Fig. 4, a detail of a guard-plate which is located in the box; Fig. 6, a vertical sect-ion of a modified form of the box, and Fig. 5, a front elevation of the lower half of the latter.

In the drawings the box is shown secured to the street-door of a residence, and the letter A designates the door, and B the box, which is secured to the inside of the same. The door A thus constitutes the front of the box, and through it is made a rectangular opening or receiving-slot a, with a beveled lower side a.

The box 13 is of substantially the same form and construction as that shown in my companion application above referred to, and its bottom is closed by a hinged lid I), having a suitable look.

A swinging gate or flapper b is pivotally suspended in the opening a from a hangerplate 0, which is secured to the outside of the door A and extends across the upper portion of the said opening. The said flapper is probored, as at (Z, to accommodate the upper portion I) of the flapper b, which is between the trunnions, and fits beneath the said plate and gives room for the flapper to swing back into the box. The said top portion 11 and trunnions project forward of the plane of the front face of the flapper. The "flapper b swings inward, and its lower edge e is beveled to coincide with the beveled lower side a of he receiving-slot a and abuts against the same, whereby the said beveled side a stops the flapper in its forward movement and holds it flush with the outside face of the door A, and the center of gravity of the flapper being in front of the latter it will be kept in contact with the said beveled surface a by its own weight. It will be observed that, owing to the pivots of the flapper being located forward of the outside face of the door A, the center of gravity of said flapper is correspondingly in front of the door, and if the flapper were free to swing forward it would naturally fall to a position. where it would project from the door. It will be observed that the flapper as thus hung is pivoted on the outside of the door A and that its pivots are concealed and protected by the hanger-plate c. It will also be apparent that the said flapper closes and maintains its closed position by its own weight and requires no spring.

The number of the residence and the name of the occupant can be inscribed in suitable manner on the front face of the flapper,which thus serves as a door-plate, and also the word Letters or some equivalent to indicate that mail is to be deposited through it.

Inside the box B a guard-plate 10, having prongs 10 is pivoted below the opening a and held in an inclined position by a prop 10. It will be seen that this guard-plate will act to prevent the withdrawal of matter from the box through the receiv'ingslot.

In Figs. 5 and 6 a modified form of box is shown, which is adapted for use as a collection-box, and in which the receiving-slot o is made in the top and closed by a hinged lid 1), having a curved arm m, projecting from its back and provided with a weight n on its end, which weight is back of the pivotal point of the lid, and thus acts by gravity to close the latter. Back of the lower open portion B of the box a printed card 0, having hours of collection, is placed with a glass oin front of it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A letter-box having a receiving-slot in one side provided with a beveled lower side, and a swinging flapper pivoted in said slot and adapted to open back into the box and provided with a beveled lower edge which coincides with the beveled lower side of the said receiving-slot and is adapted to abut against the same, the pivot of said swinging flapper being located in front of the outside surface of the side of the boxin which the receiving-slotis made, for the purpose specified.

2. A letter-box having a receiving-slot in one side provided with a beveled lower side, and a swinging flapper pivoted in said-slot and adapted to open back into the box and provided with a beveled lower edge which coincides with the beveled lower side of the said receiving-slot and is adapted to abut against the same, the pivot of said flapper being located in front of the outside surface of the side of the box in which the receiving-slot is made and also in front of the face of the flapper, whereby when the latter is closed its front surface is flush with that of the said box side which has the receivingslot.

3. The combination of the door A, having a receivingslot with a beveled lower side, a box B, secured to said door, a swinging flap per hung in said slot and opening back into the said box and having suitable trunnions projecting from its opposite ends and a beveled lower edge which abuts against the said beveled lower side of the receiving-slot in the door, and a hanger-plate secured on the outside of the said door and extending across the upper portion of the slot in thelatter and having boxes at its opposite ends in which the trunnions of the flapper are journaled, the said hanger-plate covering the upper portion of said flapper. t In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWVAR-D MARKELL. Witnesses:

J NO. T. MADDoX, F. P. DAVIS. 

